In the new Forward Today, Scott reflects on Ash Wednesday, writing that this day “reminds us that life is a gift from God.”

Dear friends in Christ,

When I was a parish priest, I loved imposing ashes. People of all sorts and conditions would present themselves at the altar rail. They would kneel. And as I put the ashes on their foreheads, I would say, “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” Some people would have specially arranged their hair to make it easier to apply the cross. Some people looked bored, while others seemed to be struggling to take in the solemn warning. Young and old, long-time members and strangers all gathered to receive the ashes.

There is one cross I remember more than others. A whole family was preparing for baptism, including three children, the youngest of which was an infant. They all knelt, babe in arms. And there, I made an ash cross on the baby’s forehead. “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”

It was a breathtaking reminder that all of us, even babies, are marching toward death. But there is good news. You see, Ash Wednesday reminds us that life is a gift from God. We don’t have much time in our earthly journey, so we should use this time well. We should do everything in our power to grow into the full stature of Jesus Christ. We should love as much as we can. We should be as merciful as we can be. We should work for justice with our whole heart. Ash Wednesday reminds us, graphically, that it’s not all about us.

We are marked as Christ’s. Everything we do is about Jesus Christ. The Lenten season offers us an annual opportunity to reorient ourselves, to reject those things that remove us from Jesus and take on those things that draw us closer to him.

The first time I went to Ash Wednesday, I was an adult. I wasn’t sure what to expect. The priest told me I’m going to die. And I was grateful for the reminder, and for the invitation to repent.

I hope you will gather with your church on Ash Wednesday and recommit to savoring this precious gift of life and using it well.

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In the new Forward Today, Scott reflects on how even Lent is something we often find ourselves trying to fit into our schedule, and asks: How will you use the gift of this season?

Dear friends in Christ,

As I write this, I’m sitting in an airport. Someone near me is talking loudly on a mobile phone, and I’m having trouble thinking anything other than “Would you please quiet down, so I can draft this important email?” Of course, that’s ridiculous. I can move. I can do a better job of focusing here. I can be more generous.

It’s actually not a bad parable for Lent. “Can’t my work just stop a bit, so I can focus on the importance of Lent?” We try to fit Lent in around other things, and we blame the other things when we don’t enter fully into the season of Lent. But of course, that’s ridiculous. Perhaps we can make choices about what we do during this season. We can make time for Lent. We can be more generous.

Lent starts in exactly a week. How will you use the gift of this season, this time of year devoted to helping us repent and return to the Lord? How will you make sure that a distraction does not become the thing. Lent – in fact, our repentance – is the thing. It’s easier said than done.

As for me, I managed to focus a bit. I looked up and enjoyed the view out the airport window. I took a deep breath, and I even gave thanks for my fellow travelers. It’s a lesson I could learn from, again and again.

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Have you tried confession in the Episcopal Church? How did it go? In the new Forward Today, Scott suggests giving it a try this Lent–and predicts you’ll be glad you did.

Dear friends in Christ,

Confession is good for the soul. Holding on to things is never good for us, and that applies all the more to our sins.

Lent is just around the corner. Here we have a whole season devoted to returning to God, recommitting to following Jesus. Sometimes we take on new practices such as prayer or service. Sometimes people give up things that might be barriers to following Jesus. The point of giving up TV isn’t to punish ourselves, but to free up time for relationships with God and others.

In some quarters, Lent has been a traditional time for confession. I don’t mean casual conversation with others, where I own up to what we’ve done wrong. And I don’t mean a focus on the general confession that we say in Holy Eucharist. No, this is harder. The sacrament of reconciliation, often called confession, calls us to name all those things we have done wrong. And then, in a moment of amazing grace, our forgiveness is announced. The slate is wiped clean.

Lots of people resist confession for lots of reasons. Saying our sins can be embarrassing. But not saying them is worse. What if the priest doesn’t keep confidence? Don’t worry about that; the priest will guard your words until death. Why should we depend on a person to hear our sins, can’t we just say them to God? You’re not depending on a person any more than Holy Eucharist depends on wheat farmers. The bread in Eucharist is a vehicle of grace, and the priest in confession is also a vehicle of grace. No more, no less.

If you haven’t tried making a confession yet, give it a try. Any priest would be happy to talk with you about this. Though it’s not yet Lent, I’m writing about confession, because if it’s your first one, it takes some preparation. I promise that if you make confession this Lent, you’ll be glad you did. Forward Movement has a wonderful new book to teach us about confession and how to prepare for it. You can also talk with others. But whatever you do, consider the sacrament of reconciliation. Confession is good for the soul.

Yours faithfully,

Scott Gunn
Executive Director

If you’re curious about confession, Joy in Confession by Hillary D. Raining is a great place to start. It combines art therapy, scholarship, theology, and worship to create a powerful experience for learning about confession in the Episcopal Church.

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Tim Schenck is on the Lent Madness Supreme Executive Committee, along with his archnemesis (and Forward Movement executive director) Scott Gunn. He is rector at St. John the Evangelist, an Episcopal Parish in Hingham, Massachusetts where he resides with his wife and two sons.

In your opinion, what was the most difficult Lent Madness match-up you’ve seen?
Well, they’re all difficult because the whole concept is absurd. I mean, saints battling saints? Come on! But perhaps the most diabolical first round match-up we ever concocted was in 2013 when Martin Luther squared off against Martin Luther King, Jr.

Which Lent Madness mug do you use most often?
I have a generic purple Lent Madness mug that I use a lot since, you know, I’m entirely nonpartisan about who wins. But I do keep the whole collection of mugs from years past stacked on a shelf in my office. Oh, and when Dietrich Bonhoeffer won in 2016, a parishioner who was a big supporter of his bought one for everyone on the staff at church. So we have a lot of those floating around St. John’s.

How was Lent Madness created—how did the idea develop?
It really started on a whim. I was tired of sports fans (of which I’m a big one) having all the fun during Lent with their brackets while church goers were left to eat twigs and engage in other penitential acts. So I came up with the idea to teach people about saints while injecting a bit of joy into the season. I though Lent could use a bit of a rebrand — it’s not supposed to be the church’s season of depression. I mean, what could be more joyful than a season specifically set aside to get closer to Jesus?

Who did you think was going to win the Golden Halo last year?Believe it or not, I never fill out a bracket or make predictions. Partly because, like Supreme Court Justices, members of the Supreme Executive Committee must be fully impartial. But mostly because I am always wrong! Far be it from me to foretell the whims of the Lent Madness voting pubic.

What is it like working with your archnemesis?
Wait, I have to work with Scott?! Alas, we all have our crosses to bear. Scott is mine and I’m sure the feeling is mutual. Nonetheless, we issue a decree of detente each Lent to pull off the world’s most popular online Lenten devotion.

Have there been any big changes to Lent Madness since its creation?
Many! The most significant change came in 2012 when I partnered with Scott and Forward Movement. Once we moved voting off my blog and onto a dedicated website, we were truly able to bring voting to the masses and add beloved devotional aids like the Saintly Scorecard. Bringing on a full slate of Celebrity Bloggers that year was another big change. I did all the writing myself the first two years, which seems crazy now — I don’t really recall much about Lent 2010 or 2011.

What’s most amazing to me is that even as it has grown and evolved, the essence of Lent Madness has never changed. It’s still all about introducing some incredibly inspiring saintly souls to people and introducing an element of delight to the season.

What other Lent Madness swag would you like to see?
A private purple jet for the Supreme Executive Committee. And trucker hats. Who wouldn’t want a Lent Madness trucker hat?

What is the most difficult part of running Lent Madness?
See number five above. Actually, there are a few things. Like getting Celebrity Bloggers Brock and Sibley to hit their deadlines. But mostly it’s the intensity of leading my own congregation through a meaningful Lent while also tending to the “mega church” that is Lent Madness. These parallel congregations (and there is a bit of overlap) deserve the most inspiring walk possible through the holy season of Lent.

What is the most fun part?I’m still amazed at the pop-up Lenten community that develops in the comment section of each match-up. Let’s just say that most online commenting sections aren’t know for their…graciousness. The community that forms around Lent Madness is an exception. People share their very personal reasons for voting a certain way, give additional information about saints not covered in the bios, and offer genuine concern for the spiritual lives of one another. That inspires me and is a joy to behold!

Any special plans for year 10 (2020)?
Great question. A special commemorative mug? (duh). We will definitely give this some thought and any suggestions are welcome. Still shocked that we’re approaching a decade of this Madness.

Is there anything else Lent Madness participants should know about you?
Starting in March, I’m taking a four month sabbatical. I’m excited about it but am aware that the first month will overlap with the last month of Lent Madness. But don’t worry! I’m not taking a sabbatical from Lent Madness. I’ll be doing some traveling to Central America that month so Monday Madness may suffer from spotty wifi on occasion, but the show will go on. I’ll also be doing some writing and you can look for my forthcoming book on the intersection of faith and coffee titled, naturally, Holy Grounds (Fortress Press, Spring 2019).

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The following excerpt is from our Lenten offering,Are We There Yet? This thought-provoking book explores the idea of pilgrimage as a metaphor for the Lenten journey. The contributing writers share stories of physical pilgrimages to beloved sites in the Christian tradition as well as internal journeys of the soul. Regardless of the type of pilgrimage, the journey radically changes each person. The pilgrims who have contributed to this Lenten devotional share this truth of transformation in stories of their own personal journeys. This excerpt was written by Bo Cox.

When I was approached to write for this Lenten devotional, I hesitated. I told the editor that I didn’t feel very connected to Christianity these days. It seems to me that the religion named after Jesus has become more exclusive than inclusive. It feels like it’s become more about prosperity and “what’s in it for me” than brokenness and welcoming the stranger, feeding and clothing the poor, and visiting those in prison. Further, the church seems to be consciously (or subconsciously) tolerating a governmental system that leads the world in incarcerating its citizens. This, the editor said, was exactly why I needed to write. So I accepted the invitation.

I don’t identify with mega-churches, prosperity theology, or a way of life that is more about what I get when I die than how I behave when I’m alive and how I treat those around me—especially those with less or those who don’t look like me or believe like me.

I seek the sacred word of God—in the Bible, the Koran, the Torah, written on parchment paper, drawn in the sand, or heard in the wind through the trees, uttered by a robed official of the church, a sweat lodge leader, an imam, or a bedraggled patient at the psychiatric hospital where I work. Writer Anne Lamott says simply, “We can assume we have created God in our own image when it turns out that he hates the same people we do.” I would add to that: “I can assume I have created God in my own image when I think I understand God.”

Today’s scripture from Ezra is about rebuilding the house of the Lord. The dictionary says rebuild means to build something again after it has been damaged or destroyed, and the authors of the Old Testament have a pretty concise idea about what this rebuilt structure should look like. I am not an authority on anything, certainly not rebuilding a temple. I do, however, have a little experience with rebuilding a broken human, along with an alternative understanding of the God who makes this possible.

What I know has little to do with wealth or material possessions but has much to do with vulnerability and accepting one’s brokenness. My education into rebuilding a broken human has more to do with muddy feet than golden carpet, with stumbling, not surefootedness, with need rather than entitlement, with being left off the invitation list (and being let in anyway) instead of being on the VIP list to begin with. What I have learned is that rebuilding a temple in our hearts has more to do with bad coffee, hand-me down clothes, and honest souls in musty church basements than prime rib dinners at five-star restaurants where lobbyists and politicians make million-dollar deals to benefit the already-wealthy at the expense of those crushed by poverty. Rebuilding the temple in our hearts has more to do with social workers who toil on the brink of that same poverty than administrators looking to retire early with a full portfolio of stock options.

Ezra’s lesson talks about the stockpile of wealth being a tower of material proof that God is good—and we are thankful. It also implies that wealth is a measure of favor and, therefore poverty must be anything but God-like.

The tower I see looks a lot more like a soup kitchen than a palace; it looks a lot more like crumpled sheets on a lopsided cot in a homeless shelter than starched sheets in a king-size suite in a luxury hotel. My tower looks more like a young forest of trees planted by people who will never see them reach maturity than a city block cleared for another million-dollar church where all the pretty people go to be told God wants them to have lots of money and fancy cars.

This week, we are not talking about a physical journey. This week will be about being still, about the journey within, about looking at ourselves in the mirror and seeing the image of God. I will share stories that illustrate God’s promise that just because something looks this way today doesn’t mean that the promise will always look that way. I want to talk about the difference between bad days when it feels like no one appreciates me and everything goes wrong, and good days when I am tearfully aware of how fortunate I am to be alive—and how this difference is simply my attitude and perspective. We will also talk about how it is not a coincidence that dog is God spelled backward.

Episcopalians want to grow spiritually. Research from over 200 congregations and 12,000 Episcopalians conducted by Forward Movement is summarized in a recently published paper rooted in extensive work on spiritual growth and vitality.

The RenewalWorks ministry, which is focused on spiritual vitality and fostering a culture of discipleship, has revealed much about the spiritual life of the Episcopal Church.

“We have learned that there is great spiritual hunger among Episcopalians,” says the Rev. Jay Sidebotham, director of RenewalWorks. “And we are discovering catalysts that can address that hunger. Basic spiritual practices such as daily prayer, scripture study, worship attendance, and serving the poor will lead to transformation.”

The research summary outlines what we are learning about the spiritual life of the Episcopal Church, including the stages of spiritual growth and practices that lead to transformation.

Among key findings:

Exploring Christians include 18% of Episcopalians. This stage includes seekers and new Christians. But in the Episcopal Church, some people who have attended church for decades are also at this stage.

Growing Christians is a stage where people have committed to their spiritual growth. 55% of Episcopalians fit in this stage.

Deepening Christians are those who articulate a personal relationship with God and whose life bears significant marks of their faith. This is 23% of Episcopalians.

Christ-Centered represents just 4% of Episcopalians. For this small group, a personal relationship with God in Christ is the most important relationship in their lives.

“Our research also shows specific catalysts that are likely to move people from one stage to the next,” says the Rev. Canon Scott Gunn, executive director of Forward Movement. “So if we want our congregations to be places where spiritual growth is happening, we need to teach and to nurture spiritual practices such as prayer, worship, study, and service.”

The research also shows the importance of the leader’s heart. “The spiritual health of the leader in the congregation is key,” Sidebotham says. “Too often clergy lose touch with their first love, with the reasons that they were drawn to ordained ministry. These challenges can have a negative effect on a church’s vitality.”

The data for the report come from the congregations who have taken part in the RenewalWorks process. This process

Invites congregants to take an extensive online survey of their beliefs, attitudes, and practices

Leads a team through four workshops to understand the findings and to implement a plan in response

Empowers leaders to create a culture of discipleship in their congregations

“What’s brilliant about RenewalWorks is that it is diagnostic, not prescriptive,” Gunn says. “There’s no gimmick here. The process tells leaders where people are, and then lay and clergy leaders can work together to offer opportunities for growth and depth.”

RenewalWorks is a ministry of Forward Movement, which is a ministry of the Episcopal Church. Known widely for its flagship devotional, Forward Day by Day, Forward Movement inspires disciples and empowers evangelists through digital resources, websites, printed materials, and conferences. Learn more about RenewalWorks at www.renewalworks.org or Forward Movement at www.forwardmovement.org.

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In the new Forward Today, Scott weighs in from the Forma conference in Charleston, reflecting on Christian formation and how our sense of it has evolved.

Dear friends in Christ,

I am writing this from the Forma conference in Charleston, SC. Forma is an association for people who work in Christian formation or who are passionate about it. Really, we should all be passionate about formation, where it’s our own formation as Christians or the formation of those in our churches.

In times past, we understood this work to be very similar to traditional education. We had Sunday School, and the model was filling heads with information. This is not outdated, but we now understand Christian formation to be larger than the facts in our heads. (Though facts and theology and history do matter, and we should learn them!)

My formation as a Christian is not only the information I might learn in a class. My formation also includes my prayer life, my worship life, my life of service, and so much more. Christian formation is closely related with discipleship. We are formed to be disciples of Jesus Christ, and being disciples of Jesus Christ makes us ready for further formation.

Here at this conference, I am inspired by what people are doing to form themselves and those around them. I am excited by what is happening in many churches. If you would like to learn more about Forma, visit their website.

What are you doing to continue your formation as a Christian? How can you support the work of formation in your church?

This fundamental and profound truth lies at the heart of the Good Book Club, Forward Movement’s invitation to the church to read the Book of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles together throughout the seasons of Lent and Easter. We believe engaging in scripture brings us into deeper relationship with our Savior—and that reading God’s word together will bring us into closer relationship with one another.

Throughout Lent and Easter, Forward Day by Day will move through Luke and Acts instead of our regular practice of following the lectionary. (Don’t worry: We’ll still offer the lectionary readings on our website.) I am honored to be one of the four featured writers during this time period, alongside talented, faithful colleagues, the Rev. Lindsay Hardin Freeman (March), the Rev. Marcus Halley (April), and Miguel Escobar (May). As always, our Forward Day by Day meditations will be available in Spanish, as a podcast, online, on an app, in Braille, and large print.

Reading scripture is both deeply personal and an act of community. We invited Episcopal organizations from across the church to partner in the Good Book Club initiative. The response was overwhelming. More than twenty-five organizations stepped up to partner with Forward Movement, committing time and talent to develop resources for the wider church. Presiding Bishop Michael Curry issued a video invitation for all Episcopalians to join the Good Book Club. In my twenty years of local, diocesan, and church-wide work, I have never seen so many organizations come together for common cause. God is doing a new thing indeed.

Episcopal Migration Ministries will offer a special podcast, featuring voices from across the U.S., the church, and the immigrant and refugee community. A blog will accompany the podcast featuring written reflections, art, photography, music, and videos from podcast guests and others. ChurchNext has developed a free, five-course video curriculum for Lent called Luke the Liberator. United Thank Offering (UTO) has prepared a downloadable booklet with meditations on the readings, questions for personal reflection or group discussion, space to keep a gratitude journal, and a story of a ministry supported by UTO. Forma will offer a weekly Faith-at-Home series, featuring reflections and activities for families, and Building Faith will publish a series of articles to help Christian educators and parents read and study Luke and Acts with children and teens. These are just a sampling of the wide variety of resources that offer an opportunity for people to engage wherever they are—geographically, spiritually, emotionally. A full list of the partners is featured below, and links to the resources can be found at www.goodbookclub.org.

In addition to organizations, entire dioceses are onboard, making scripture engagement a priority. So too several congregations have committed to reading and exploring Luke and Acts together. If you’d like for your congregation or organization to be included as a partner or want to know more about how to get involved, send me an email at rthompson@forwardmovement.org.

As we began making plans for this project, we discussed our goals and what success might look like. We have some quantitative and qualitative measures, but we’re also not willing to limit how God might work in and among us. We can only dream and imagine how the Good Book Club might shape and transform us as individuals and as a church. God already knows.

Excerpt from Forward Day by Day, February 2018

Luke 2:10-11. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for see—I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord.

You have probably heard these words dozens of times. Perhaps you were a shepherd clad in an ill-fitting sheet or a young Mary holding a burlap-wrapped baby doll. Maybe, propped on elbows on the family room floor, you watched an earnest Linus tell Charlie Brown—and us—what Christmas is all about. Maybe wax burned your fingers as you held a candle at midnight mass, listening to these words said by a priest or sung by a choir.

Luke’s telling of the birth of Christ is the familiar favorite: The emperor sending out a decree; Joseph and Mary setting out for Bethlehem on a donkey; Jesus sleeping (and crying, I suspect) in a manger.

Whether this is your first or fiftieth time hearing this story, may you meet each telling with wonder and awe. The birth of any child is amazing, but the birth of this one is miraculous. Just twenty-one verses change the course of the world. One story in a sea of stories that is the greatest one ever to be told, offering good news of great joy for all people.

MOVING FORWARD: Read the lesson out loud today. Savor the memories this story calls up for you.

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“Is it easier to repent,” asks Scott in the new Forward Today, “or to point the finger at someone else’s need to repent? What practices will you take on when Lent starts in a month?”

Dear friends in Christ,

Everyone loves to talk about the sins of other people. This is not a new problem for Christians. But it’s a big problem, since it’s not what the Gospel asks us to do.

Jesus is pretty clear. We are to confess our sins. We are to keep humble. We are to love others. We are not supposed to judge others. It all goes together.

I think Jesus taught this, again and again, because he knew that focusing on the sins of others is a serious temptation. And 2,000 years later, we humans haven’t evolved on this front. We still love to focus on the sins of others rather than think about our own.

It’s easy to pretend that racism or sexism or any other kind of bias is a problem that other people have. It’s easy to pretend that when Jesus challenges the rich, he’s not talking about us, despite how our income might compare with the global standard. It’s easy to pretend that other people fail to forgive, because we convince ourselves that we will forgive when the other person deserves it. It’s easy to point at the contradictions in someone else’s political views, but it’s harder to admit our own. It’s easy to think that repentance is something that other people need to do. You get the idea.

Lent is coming. It’s a whole season devoted to repentance. Usually, around this time of year I think about what practices I might take on during Lent. But maybe there is a prior step. Maybe I need to think about my sins, so that I know how I need to focus this season.

What about you? Is it easier to repent, or to point the finger at someone else’s need to repent? What practices will you take on when Lent starts in a month?

I can’t change the whole world, but I can change my heart. That’s where I’m looking these days.

Yours faithfully,

Scott Gunn
Executive Director

Our featured sale product today is Ashes and the Phoenix. This book of meditations for Lent is just $3.75, today only!

Did you miss out on the sold-out Evangelism Matters Conference of 2016? Join Episcopalians from across the United States at the 2018 Evangelism Matters Conference this March. Share in three days of workshops, panels, worship, and a keynote from Presiding Bishop Michael Curry.

The conference will develop tools required to spread the Good Word and foster techniques for growing the community of faith. Speakers include Michael Curry, Gay Clark Jennings, Stephanie Spellers, Carrie Borne Headington, Mary Foster Parmer, Scott Gunn, Frank Logue, and others. Select plenary sessions will be live-streamed and available online.

A ministry of The Episcopal Church, Forward Movement has been inspiring disciples and empowering evangelists around the globe since 1935 through
our offerings that encourage spiritual growth in individuals and congregations.